The Metropolitan Museum of Art recently made public an extensive archive of 400,000 high-resolution images available for download and non-commercial use. Divided into categories ranging from Asian Art to European Paintings to American Decorative Arts to overall Highlights, the collection is a massive treasure trove of visual art, history, and cultural enrichment spanning centuries and continents. Here are some of our favorite picks from the Photography collection, which features 18,000 images from the 19th century till now.

Thomas P. Campbell, Director and CEO of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, says, "Through this new, open-access policy, we join a growing number of museums that provide free access to images of art in the public domain. I am delighted that digital technology can open the doors to this trove of images from our encyclopedic collection."

The collection is as impressive as it is vast, so be sure to check it out for yourself and spend an hour (or several) getting lost in this incredible archive of images.

Above: Kinder in einem Feriendorf / Martin Munkacsi / 1929

Head of Man with Hat and Cigar / Leon Levinstein / 1960

The Bubble / Alvin Langdon Coburn / 1908

The Steerage / Alfred Stieglitz / 1907

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Standing Before the Launching Chains of the Great Eastern / Robert Howlett / 1857